Podarcis lilfordi - Lilford's Wall Lizard
Lilford's Wall Lizard is a robust, somehow archaic looking lizard with massive bodies and deep heads. It's an endemic species of Mallorca and Menorca. Remarkably, the species seems to be extinct on the main islands but occurs on numerous small satellite islands - sometimes in good numbers. The reason for its absence on the two main islands is not clear: It may be caused by predators or perhaps climatic changes.
For the several islet populations, more than 20 subspecies have been described, although their validity is subject to discussion. Anyway, the variability in colouration and pattern among these populations is stunning.
In its habitats, Podarcis lilfordi is the only lacertid lizard and therefore cannot be confused with other species (only on Ses Mones Island (Menorca), Podarcis lilfordi co-occurs with Podarcis siculus).
On Menorca, besides of Podarcis siculus, another introduced lizard occurs (Teira perspicillata). On Mallorca, there are some introduced populations of Podarcis pityusensis. However, the mentioned species do not occur in syntopy with Podarcis lilfordi.
